Tube mill



May 2, 1933. s. M wEcKsTElN TUBE MILL 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 30,1930 May 2, 1933- s. M. wEcKsTElN l,906,579

TUBE MILL May 2, 1933 s. M. wEcKs-rEINn 1,906,679

TUBE MILL Filed April 30, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 May 2, 1933- s. M.wEcKsTElN 1,905,679

TUBE MILL Filed April 30, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 2, 1933UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE SAMSON n. wEcxsrEIN, or CANTON, omo,ass-miran. 'ro 'rHETmxEN no'LLEn imanapplicati@ med april 3o,

My invention relates to piercing mills. With mills of this type, the hotbillet is fed by suitable means endwise against lthe head of a piercingmandrel which's located be- 5 tween rotating rollers whose axe's are inplanes parallel to the axis of a mandrel but inclined in oppositedirections in their respective planes. The rollers are widest aboutmidway of their length and taper towards their ends; an they are spacedapart at such distance that the periphery of the billet will come incontact therewith about half-way (more or less) between the forward endsof the rolls and the middle thereof, the point of the piercing mandrelbeing located slightly nforward in the middle of the rolls. Under theseconditions, the end of the billet is forced forwardly and against theplane of the Amandrel, whereby the diameter 0f the billet isreducedsufliciently to pass between the widest portion of the rolls,beyond which the spreading action of the conical mandrel spreads the.metal outwardly against the surface of the rearhalf of the roller. Inthe early act-ion, the billet is forced against the forward half of theroller and the thrust must be taken care of bythe bearings of therollers; but later on the thrust of the metals being spread by themandrel is in opposite direction and this thrust must also be taken careof by the bearings of the rollers. On account of the intense heat andthe severe stresses to which the rollers are subjected, the wear on the.bearings has been rapid and 'it has been diiiicultfand expensive tokeep the rollers journaled with the precision required to produceSatisfactory work. The principal object of the present invention is toovercome these diiiiculties. `The invention consists in interposingroller 40 bearings between the roll necks and head supports, suchbearings being adapted and arranged to take care of the stresses thereonbeing adjustable for wear and arranged to accommodate themselves to thevariations of temperature and to aid in dissipating the heat that theroll necks might absorb. It also consists in providing suitable rollerbearings for the thrust block. It also consists in the combinations andarrangements 0f partsI here- 59 inafter described and claimed. J

ING COMPANY, or cANroN, omo, Aconronmfron oF omo TUBE MILL 1930. SerialNo. 448,496.

In the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer tolike parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the thrust block,

and .the table on which it slides, l Fig. 2 is a plan view of a piercingmill of gell 1known type, being a continuation of Fig. 3 shows a detailsectional view of a reeler roll, 60

Fig. 4 is a sectional side view of the thrust block,

Fig. 5 is a side view partly in section of a. mandrel bar with apiercing plug,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken in the mid- 65 dle of a piercing.roller stand,

Fig. 7 is a side view partly in section of the piercing roller andstand,

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of a piercing' mill roll, and

Fig. 9 is an elevationy of the thrust block.

The piercing mill illustrated in the accompanying drawings is of a wellknown type (wlth the exception of the bearings of the thrust block androllers) and it is therefore considered unnecessary to describe thesame4 in detail. In general the mill comprises a set of rollers 1suitably mounted, a guide table 2 for the tube after it has been rolled,and a thrust block 3 that is slidable to and from 80 the rollers. Therollers are' journaled in bearings (hereinafter described) thatarecovered by any sultable housing. The roll housing 4 is mounted on acircular slideway 5, said slideway being mounted upon an upright housingmember 6, said -upright housing member being mounted upon two channelshaped base members 7 and 7 thatextend the width of the roll stand. AThe roll housing 4 is anged at each end to receive said circularslideway member and ,any suitable mechanism is used for moving the rollhousing in relation to the slideway. This arrangement provides a meansfor adjusting the Obliquity of the rolls. Each of the drive shafts 8which are driven by a common source as is customary in the constructionofpiercing mills, are attached to the roller shafts 8 by universaljoints 9.

Mounted crosswise upon the two base mem- 100' bers' in the center anddirectly between the rollers is a framework 10, said framework beingprovided with a trough shaped under guide member 11 directly between thetwo rollers at the center. Mounted at the fore end of said framework isan upright supporting member 12 and integral with -said member is acylindrical guide member 13 that guides a billet 14 to the rollers. Therear end of said frame is provided with a second supporting member 15that is provided with a trough shaped member 16 directly in line withthe forward support, and constitutes a guide for the tube 17 after ithas been rolled; Directly between the two rollers and in alinement withthe rear and forward guide meml bers andmounted upon a framework 18 eX-tending horizontally from the upright housing is an upper guide member19 which is adjacent and cooperates with the under guide to hold thebillet in position as it is being rolled. lEach of these guide membersis provided with notches 20 and 20', their forward ends adapted toreceive the ends of two levers 21 and 21, said upper guide lever 20being fulcrumed upon the upper framework, and said lower guide lever 2Obeing fulcrumed upon the lower crosswise framework. Mounted on the upperframework is a screw 22 that engages the top end of the top lever andsimilarly a screw 23 is mountedupon the lower framework and engages thelower end of the lower lever, both of which constitute meansfor-adjusting the center guide members.

Positioned endwise in relation to the rear guide member is the longguide table 2 thatv is provided with trough shaped members suitablymounted on said table and which become guide members 24 for the tubeafter it has been rolled. The table is also provided with bearings 25 onwhich are mounted a shaft 26 that is provided with arms 27 which extendslightly underneath the tube and form the means for lifting the tube andthrowing it off to the side after said tube has been rolled and amandrel bar 28 has been drawn out. One end of the mandrel bar 28 isprovided with a suitable piercing plug 29, while the other-end engages ashaft 3() that is mounted in a housing 31 of the thrust block 3 of wellknown type. The thrust block is provided with two springs 32 placed oneither side that engage bumpers 33 at the rear of the thrust block sothat the tube upon striking the forward end of the thrust block 4will becushioned by the action of the springs. T he thrust block is slidableupon two angle bars 34 suitably mounted on a base 35, which formsa'slideway for the thrust block. Spaced at intervals along said slidewayare horizontal shafts 36, rollers 37 being rotatably mounted thereon.Said rollers carry a rod 38 extending the length of the slideway, oneend of said rod being secured to the thrust block, the other end beingattached to any suitable mechanism for moving the thrustvblock along theslideway. The slideway is provided at the rear end with two cylindricalcasings 39 that contain compression springs 40, said springs beingprovided with bumpers 41 for stopping the thrust block at the rear endof its travel.

Instead of the bearings commonly used for the shaft 30 of the thrustblock, the pres ent invention makes use of roller bearings at the vfrontand rear portions of such shaft. Said shaft is of greatest diameter atits forward end and is stepped down near its forward end to form ashoulder 42 for the forward bearing, and again stepped down towards itsrear end to form a shoulder 43 for the rear bearing. rllhe front bearingcomprises a duplex cone 44 mounted on the shaft and positioned by aspacing ring 45 interraceways is a series of conical rollers 49 mountedin suitable cages 50 and cooperating respectively with cups 51 or otherraceway members. One of these cups 51 is mounted in a seat 52 in thecartridge 53 that has a cylindrical inner surface and has a key orspline 54 mounted on its outer surface and fitting in a key-way 55 cutlongitudinally in the inner surface of the housing. The outer end ofsaid cartridge eX- tends inwardly over said .spacing-ring, an oilclosure 56 being interposed between them. The other cup or outer bearingmember 51 also fits in the open end of said cartridge and is positionedby an adjusting ring 57 that is secured to the end thereof and has aflange 58 thatl extends inwardly against said cup. A positioning ring 59bears against the inner end of said cone and is held in place by meansof cap screws 60 that have threaded engagement with the shaft.

The outer bearing comprises a spacing ring 61 mounted on the reducedportion of the shaft and bearing against the shoulder thereon. Alsomounted on the shaft and bearing against this spacing ring is a cono orbearing member 62 that hasv a thrust rib 63 on its large end, being theend next to the spacing ring; and cooperating with the conical bearingsurface Iof said cone is acircular series of conical rollers 64 mountedin a suitable cage 65 and cooperating also with a cup or outer bearingmember 66. rll"his cup is mounted in an annular seat 67 providedtherefor in said housing. Rearwardly of said seat the housing. isreduced in di'- ameter and at some distance further rearwardly the innerdiameter of the housing is increased to form an annular seat 68 for A onthe shaft and is provided with rings or other suitable washers 7 5 andis itself positioned by a locking nut 76 that has screwthreadedengagement with the end of the shaft and is secured by tongued lockwash-- ers 77 or the like, together preferably with an additionallocking nut.

The shell is provided with an oil port 78 through which oil or lubricantmay be ap- 2 plied to the interior thereof, and as the oil wise of theshaft, it is obvious that a considerable quantity of oil may be appliedinside the large chamber between the two oil rings.

By the arrangement. described, the bearings may be readily adjusted. Theforward bearing, meaning to include the two series of rollers on theduplex cone, may be adjusted by means of shims 79 between the end ofthevcartridge and the positioning flange interposed between the end ofthe cartridge and the anged ring secured thereto. The "rear bearing,meaning to include the two series of rollers (on the rear part 4of theshaft) may be adjusted by manipulation of the. threaded nut on thethreaded end of the shaft.

In the operation of a piercing mill, the principal function of thethrust block is to receive the endwise thrust on the billet and toallowrotation of the billet on the longitudinal axis that maintains itsposition with precision. In thisv operation, the bearings are subjectedto heavy endwise thrust as well as to radial load. According to thepresent construction, the forward]- bearing is designed to take care ofradial load principally but on account of the form of the rollers, thebearin is capable of also taking care of a reasonab e amount of endwisethrust and is particularly adapted for maintaining a true centralalinement of the shaft throughout a considerable range of adjustment ofthe bearing for wear or position. On the other hand, the rear bearing isdesigned to take care of the principal endwise thrust; and for thisreason the rollers of the forward of the two 'series at the rear of theshaft are exceptionally large and heavy, and the inner bearing cone ismade exceptionally thick so as to enable more of such rollers to bemounted inthe series. In consequence of the foregoing arrangement thebearings of the thrust block' are much more durable than the usualbearings and throughout their life can be kept precisely adjusted foralinement and position. f

rings serve to block the passage of oil length-` The main piercing millrolls are journaled on the usual rotatable cradles. Instead of being journaled in plain bearings, each end of the shafts is journaled and eachmain piercing mill roll is provided with roller bearings interposedbetween it and lthe cradles in which it is mounted. In the particularconstruction illustrated, two sets of duplex roller bearings are shownon each end of each shaft 8. Each of the duplex bearings comprises aduplex cone or inner bearingmember 80 mounted directly on the shafts andprovided with a thrust rib 81 midway of its length, from which theraceways or bearing surfaces 82 taper towards the ends, a circularseries of tapered rollers 83 cooperating with each of said raceways andthemselves mounted in suitable cages 84, and a cup or outer raceway4member 85 for each series of rollers. The

two duplex cones at each end of the shaft are spaced apart by a distancepiece 86 in the form of a ring mounted on the shaft and the duplex conenearest to-the roll at each end thereof is positioned by a sleeve orfiller ring 87 mounted on the shaft, with its ends bearing respectivelyagainst said duplex cone and said main piercing mill roll. Anotherspacing ring 88 is mounted on a shaft between the driving head of theshaft and the adjacent duplex cone. The duplex cone at the other end ofthe shaft is positioned by means of 'a perforated plate or ring 89 thatisvheld by means of cap screws 90 that have threaded engagement with theend of the shaft, the margin of said plate or ring overlapping the endsof the outermost duplex cone and contacting therewith. By thisengagement, the tightening of said cap screws forces the outermostduplex cone inwardly and the movement thereof is transmitted through thespacing ring to thel next duplex cone and thence through the spacingring to the driving head of the shaft. In this manner, all of the partsthat are mounted directly on the shaft are firmly positioned relative toeach other. The duplex cones are also provided with notches 91 next totheshaft at their outside ends which engage projections 92 in thespacing rings and hence prevent the bearings from turning on the shaft.I

. The bearing cups or outer vraceway members are seated in a bearingcartridge 93 in the form of a shell with Vcylindrical inner and outersurfaces.` About midway of the length of this cartridge or shell is arib 94E integral e rings 951that overlap thevends of the-car tridge andhave annular ribs 95 that fit in the interior of the cartridge and areada ptto bysuitable means. lt is obvious that Inet- I 4 scribed.

al shims may be interposed between said rings and the respective ends ofsaid cartridge to provide for the adjust-ment of the bearings. The innersurfaces of these rings are provided with grooves 96 in which are fittedfelt rings 97 or oil proof washers that contact with the outer surfacesof the spacing rings on the shaft. Such rings close the ends of thechamber in which the roller bearings are located and`to which oil orlubricant may be supplied through a passageway that extends therefromthrough the top of the bearing cartridge and the cradle in which it ismounted. `At the outer end of the shaft are a cartridge, outer racewaymembers therein and positioning rings screwed to the ends of thecartridge, all similar to those at the driving end of the shaft anddescribed in the preceding paragraph, except that the endmost ring ismade in the form of an enclosing platev98 that covers the entire end'`ofthe shaft and except that such plate does not have the groove for theoil ring above de- Each of these cartridges or shell is mounted in acylindrical seat 100 provided therefor in the roll housing 4, with theribs at the ends of the cartridge overlapping the ends of the seat. Inthe case of the housing next P to the driving end ofthe shaft, the sides101 of the ribs bear snugly against the ends of the cradle seat, wherebythe bearing at the driving end of the shaft is fixed in position. At theouter end of the shaft, however, the

. ribs of the cartridge are spaced further apart than the length of theseat, and consequently g1' do not prevent longitudinal or axial movementof the bearings at.the outer end of the shaft. This arrangement enablesthe bearings to accommodate themselves automatically to the expansion ofthe .shaft arisingv from the heat incident to the Working of the mill.This is due to the fact that although the cartridge that holds thebearings at the driving end of the shaft is fixed in its position, thecartridge that encloses bearings at the opposite end of the shaft isfree to float endwise. n f

Fig. 3 shows a modification' using roller bearings in place of plainbearings on reeler rolls'102, said reeler rolls being mounted in theusual manner. Instead of being 'ournaled in plain bearings, each end othe.

reeler roll shaft 103 is journaled and each reeler roll is provided withroller bearings interposed between it and the cradles in which it ismounted. Two sets of duplex roller bearings areprovided on each end ofeach shaft. Each of the duplex bearings comprises a duplex cone 104mounted directly on the shaft and provided with a thrust rib 105 midwayof its length and also a rib 106 at each end, said-ribs borderingraceways 107 which taper toward the ends. A circular series of taperedrollers 108 cooperates with each of said racewa s7 said rollers beingmounted in a suitab e cage 109.

Each of the two outside series are provided with a cup 110 or outsideraceway, while the two center series of rollers have for an outsideraceway a duplex cup 111 tapering from the middle to the ends. The twoduplex cones at each end of the shaft are spaced apart by a spacingmember 112 in the form of a ring mounted on the shaft, and the duplexcone nearest to the roll at each end thereof is positioned by a fillerring 113 mounted on the shaft, with its ends bearing respectivelyagainst said 'duplex cone and said reeler roll. Another spacing ring 114is mounted on a stepped down portion of the shaft between the drivinghead and the adjacent duplex cone. The duplex cones are provided withnotches 115 next to the shaft at their outside ends which engage projecvtions in the s acing rings and hence prevent the bearings rom turning onthe shaft. vThe duplex cone at the end of the shaft opposite the'driving head is positioned byv means of a plate 116 secured to the endof the shaft by cap screws 117, said plate 116 overlapping the ends'ofthe outermost duplex cone and contacting therewith or with shimsinterosed.

The outer racewa members are seated in a cartridge I118 in t e form of ashell, said cartridge being provided with annular flanges 119 at eachend nearest the working rolll that cooperates with the filler ring. Saidflange is provided with two annular ooves 120, one on its bottom and oneon its side inl which fit oil seal rings 121 thus providing an oil sealbetween inside of the shell and the ller ring. The raceway members forthe two series of rollers at the driving end of the'shaft have a'slidingfit in respective ends of the cartridge and eachof' is fitted an oil iproof washer 125. At the outer end of the shaft are a housing, outerraceway, members therein and positionin rings secured to the ends of thehousing, al similar to those at the driving end, except that the endmostring 126 is made in the form of an enclosing plate that covers theentire end of the shaft and does not have an oiling ring groove. Each ofthe bearing housings ismounted in a spherical seat 127 provided in thecradle and a vertically disposed pin 128 extends from the cartridge intoa rectangular recess 129 in the roll housing 4 whereby rotation of thecup carrier is prevented. The cradle is secured to any suitableframework in a manner well known in tube mill construction.

What I claim is:

1. A tube piercing mill comprising a framework, roll housings thereon,piercing rolls having their axes at oblique angles to each other andwhose neck portions extend through the respective housingsconical rollerbearings interposed between the respective roll neck portions andhousings and arranged to take endwise thrust in both directions, meansfor driving the respective rolls on the same side of said framework, theroll housings at the driving end ofsaid roll being xed on said frameworkand the roll housings at the other ends being movably mounted on theframework, a thrust block, a shaft therein, and a mandrel bar engagingsaid shaft and associated with said rolls.v

2. A tube piercing mill comprising a framework, roll housings thereon, aset of piercing rolls having their axes at oblique angles to each otherand whose neck portions extend through the respective roll housings andconical roller bearings interposed between the respective roll neckportions and housin each bearing including a plurality of dup ex conesmounted on a neck portion, cooperating cups, rollers interposed betweensaid cones and cups and adjustable means for firmly positioning thebearing parts on the roll neck portion relative to each other.

3. In a tube mill, a framework, roll housings thereon, and a piercingroll having its neck portions extending in the roll housmgs, the rollhousing at the driving end of said roll being firmly secured on theframework and the roll housing at the other end being movably mounted onthe framework to` allow for expansion of the roll due to heatingthereof.

4. A tube piercing mill comprising a framework, roll housings thereon,plercmg rolls whose neck portions extend through the respective rollhousings, a thrust block, haying a housing, a shaft extending from saldthrustblock housing, a mandrel bar engaging said shaft and operativelyassociated with said rolls, a large conical thrust bearing interposedbetween said shaft near its inner a mandrel bar associated with saidrolls, a

thrust block, having a housing, a shaft extending from said thrust blockhousing and operatively connected to said mandrel bar, antifrictionbearings interposed between said shaft and the thrust block housingcomprising at the end that receives the mandrel bar a duplex conemounted on said shaft, two outside cups mounted in said housing, rollersinterposed between said cone and cups, a single cone near the other endof the shaft, a single outer cup mounted in an annular seat in saidhousing towards the thrust, and large rollers adapted to receive thethrust interposed between said cone and cup, another cone mounted on astill further reduced portion of the shaft, a single outer cup androllers interposed between said cone and cup.

6. A tube mill comprising a framework,

yroll housings thereon, a set of rolls having their axes at obliqueangles to each other and whose neck portions extend through theirrespective roll housings, conical roller bearings interposed between therespective roll neck portions and housings, each bearing including twoduplex cones,'two single outer cups, a duplex cone spaced midway betweensaid single cups, and rollers interposed between said cones and cups.

7. A tube piercing mill comprising a framework, piercing rolls, amandrel bar operatively associated with said piercing rolls, a thrustblock, a housing therefor, a shaft extending from said thrust block andoperatively connected to said mandrel bar, coni-` cal roller bearingsdesigned principally for radial loads interposed between said shaft andthe thrust block housing near its forward end, means for adjusting saidbearing, a conical roller bearing designed principally for thrust loadsinterposed between said shaft and housing near its inner end, and meansfor adjusting said thrust bearings.

8. A tube mill comprising "a framework,r

roll housings thereon, a set of rolls having their axes at obliqueangles toeach other and mounted on shafts whose ends extend through therespective housings, conical bearings interposed between the respeotlveshaft ends and housings, each bearing at the driving head including twoduplex cones mounted on said shaft, three cups mounted on said housing,rollers interposed between said cones and cups, similar cones, rollersand cups provided at each of the ends opposite the driving head, a platesecured to each of the outer ends of the shaft by means of cap screws,said plate overlapping the shaft `in each case and forming abutments forthe outer duplex cones, whereby turning the cap screws forms a meansforl adjusting said bearings.

9. A tube piercing mill comprising ,a framework, a set of piercingrolls, a thrust block having a housing Whose inner periphery is reducedand then increased near its inner end to form annular seats, a shaftextending from said thrust block housing and having a reduced portionnear its inner end to form a shoulder, a mandrel bar engaging said shaftand operatively associated with said rolls, cups mounted in the housing`and having their larger ends abutting against the annular seats,respectively, cones mounted on the shaft to cooperate with said cups,the

outermost cone having'its larger end abutting against the shoulder onsaid shaft, rollers interposed between said cones and cups, a sleevemounted on said shaft and abutting against the most rearward cone and anadjusting 'lock nut having threaded engagement with the end of saidshaft and abutting against said sleeve.

Signed at Canton, Ohio, this 25th day of April 1930. l

' SAMSON M. WECKSTEIN.

